Large machines for P&G en route to Albany

ALBANY — Motorists on South Georgia roads might experience some traffic issues over the next few days as oversized load trucks carrying two carrying large pieces of equipment for Procter & Gamble (P&G) make their way from the Port of Brunswick to Albany.

According to the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), the two trucks, which will be travelling 30 minutes apart, left Brunswick Thursday morning and will be accompanied by law enforcement vehicles and utility bucket trucks as they make their way westward along several major thoroughfares in Georgia.

Not a great deal is known about the two pieces of equipment that will make up the loads, but according to the permits that were issued by GDOT, the machines are listed as a “loop seal tertiary superheater, and a vortex.”

The first of the oversized loads weighs 150,000 pounds, which includes the piece of equipment as well as the truck and trailer, and measures 83 feet long, 20 feet high and more than 20 feet wide.

The second oversized load is smaller weighing in at 74,000 pounds and measuring 83 feet long, nearly 19 feet high and nearly 17 feet wide.

Due to the size of the two loads the company shipping the two items, Guy M. Turner Inc., had to obtain special permits from GDOT in order to make the trip.

Anita Birmingham, district communications officers with GDOT, said it took several months for the state to issue the permits and that the two loads that are on the way are two of eight total loads that will eventually make their way to P&G.

Birmingham said that the state issues a number of permits such as large loads, houses etc., but a loads of this size are not typical.

According to the GDOT’s permitting department any load with dimensions that exceed eight feet, six inches in width, 13 feet, 6 inches in height, 100 feet in length, and 80,000 pounds in legal weight is considered oversized and needs an oversized/overweight permit. Any of those qualifiers put a load in the category of oversized.

A superload exceeds a weight of 150,000 pounds, a height of 16 feet or a width of 16 feet, two inches needs a superload permit, meaning that these two loads to P&G fell into that category.

The width of the loads will require the use of two lanes, which is why the two loads are expected to impact travellers on the roads. The convey will pull over from time to time, however, to allow motorists to pass.

The convey will travel daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and are expected to arrive in Albany Wednesday or Thursday, since the loads will not move on Easter Sunday. The trucks can also not move through Tifton or Albany on Friday or Saturday, according to GDOT scheduling.

Due to the size of the load the convoy cannot move at a normal speed, with this particular transport being limited to a maximum speed of 55 mph. Birmingham said that likely the load was too big for it to ever get going that fast.

Additionally, the convoy is having to move during the day rather than at night because the loads are so tall, thus bringing overpasses, utility lines, etc. into play.

GDOT bridge engineers or district engineers will often suggest travel times, but the decision is ultimately made by law enforcement in the area where the load is going.

Since the two trucks will make their way through Waycross on Friday and Tifton on Monday or Tuesday, motorists in those areas are asked to be prepared.

The full travel route and schedule for the two oversized loads are as follows:

The convoy will head east on U.S. Highway 17, then head northeast on U.S. Highway 17, then merge onto State Route 25 spur heading northwest, then turn onto I-95 heading south. Then the convoy will turn onto U.S. Highway 314 heading northwest, then turn onto U.S. Highway 84 heading Southwest into Waycross.

In Waycross the convoy will head west on Pinehurst Drive, then turn south onto Tebeau Street, before turning west on Francis Street. The convoy will then turn onto McDonald Street heading west and head out of Waycross on U.S. Highway 82.

The convoy will continue heading west on U.S. Highway 82 entering Tifton, where it will turn north on Ridge Avenue. The convoy will then turn west onto Second Street, eventually turning onto I-75 heading south and traveling in the left lane for low overhead clearance sign.

The convoy will then turn off on exit 62 onto U.S. Highway 82 heading west. Around milepost 16.5-17 in Dougherty County the convoy will travel in the eastbound lane on U.S Highway 82 for low overhead sign clearance, then switch back to the westbound lanes.

The convoy will then turn south onto Mock Road before turning onto State Route 133 heading west. The convoy will finally arrive at the P&G construction gateway off Liberty Expressway.

The exact route the convoy is taking is determined by a number of factors and requires input from a number of different areas including GDOT district offices which get input from traffic, signal and maintenance engineers to determine if the route submitted by the carrier should be approved.

This particular load was originally going to come from the Port of Savannah but because of the height of the load things had to be shifted to the Port of Brunswick to accommodate the best possible route from the coast to Albany.

“It’s unusual to have loads of these dimensions moving through South Georgia,” said Birmingham. “So this is a rare occurrence.”

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